Isolation and identification of bacterial endosymbionts in the brooding brittle star Amphipholis squamata

Symbiotic associations with subcuticular bacteria (SCB) have been identified and studied in numerous echinoderms, including the SCB of the brooding brittle star, Amphipholis squamata. These SCB, however, have not been studied using current next generation sequencing technologies. Previous studies on...

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Main Author: Tedford, Abbey Rose
Format: Text
Language:unknown
Published: University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository 2016
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Online Access:https://scholars.unh.edu/honors/273
https://scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1275&context=honors
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spelling ftuninhampshire:oai:scholars.unh.edu:honors-1275 2023-05-15T17:45:43+02:00 Isolation and identification of bacterial endosymbionts in the brooding brittle star Amphipholis squamata Tedford, Abbey Rose 2016-01-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://scholars.unh.edu/honors/273 https://scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1275&context=honors unknown University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository https://scholars.unh.edu/honors/273 https://scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1275&context=honors Honors Theses and Capstones Bacteria echinoderms symbiosis subcuticular marine microbiology Bacteriology Biodiversity Biology Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Marine Biology Organismal Biological Physiology text 2016 ftuninhampshire 2023-01-30T21:35:20Z Symbiotic associations with subcuticular bacteria (SCB) have been identified and studied in numerous echinoderms, including the SCB of the brooding brittle star, Amphipholis squamata. These SCB, however, have not been studied using current next generation sequencing technologies. Previous studies on the SCB of A. squamata placed these bacteria in the genus Vibrio (γ-Proteobacteria), but subsequent studies suggested that the SCB are primarily composed of α-Proteobacteria. The present study examines the taxonomic composition of SCB associated with A. squamata from the Northwest Atlantic. DNA was extracted using a CTAB protocol and 16S rRNA sequences were amplified using gene-targeted PCR on an Illumina HiSeq at the UNH Genomics Center. Results show the presence of a single dominant bacterial type, within the family Rhodobacteraceae, which composes 70-80% of the A. squamata microbiome. The majority of sequences recovered from A. squamata were identified as members of the genus Octadecabacter (97% similarity). By comparison, adjacent seawater and sediment bacterial communities were significantly more diverse, hosting bacteria in the phyla Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Cyanobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, and Actinobacteria. Thus, a distinct SCB community is clearly evident in A. squamata. Here, we hypothesize the potential functions of this symbiotic community, in addition to what may be driving the unique dominance of a member of the family Rhodobacteraceae. Although metatranscriptome studies are needed to characterize the functional attributes of the SCB community, we have identified a specific and potentially beneficial symbiont that may support metabolic requirements and nutrient uptake vital to the reproduction of A. squamata. Text Northwest Atlantic University of New Hampshire: Scholars Repository
institution Open Polar
collection University of New Hampshire: Scholars Repository
op_collection_id ftuninhampshire
language unknown
topic Bacteria
echinoderms
symbiosis
subcuticular
marine
microbiology
Bacteriology
Biodiversity
Biology
Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology
Marine Biology
Organismal Biological Physiology
spellingShingle Bacteria
echinoderms
symbiosis
subcuticular
marine
microbiology
Bacteriology
Biodiversity
Biology
Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology
Marine Biology
Organismal Biological Physiology
Tedford, Abbey Rose
Isolation and identification of bacterial endosymbionts in the brooding brittle star Amphipholis squamata
topic_facet Bacteria
echinoderms
symbiosis
subcuticular
marine
microbiology
Bacteriology
Biodiversity
Biology
Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology
Marine Biology
Organismal Biological Physiology
description Symbiotic associations with subcuticular bacteria (SCB) have been identified and studied in numerous echinoderms, including the SCB of the brooding brittle star, Amphipholis squamata. These SCB, however, have not been studied using current next generation sequencing technologies. Previous studies on the SCB of A. squamata placed these bacteria in the genus Vibrio (γ-Proteobacteria), but subsequent studies suggested that the SCB are primarily composed of α-Proteobacteria. The present study examines the taxonomic composition of SCB associated with A. squamata from the Northwest Atlantic. DNA was extracted using a CTAB protocol and 16S rRNA sequences were amplified using gene-targeted PCR on an Illumina HiSeq at the UNH Genomics Center. Results show the presence of a single dominant bacterial type, within the family Rhodobacteraceae, which composes 70-80% of the A. squamata microbiome. The majority of sequences recovered from A. squamata were identified as members of the genus Octadecabacter (97% similarity). By comparison, adjacent seawater and sediment bacterial communities were significantly more diverse, hosting bacteria in the phyla Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Cyanobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, and Actinobacteria. Thus, a distinct SCB community is clearly evident in A. squamata. Here, we hypothesize the potential functions of this symbiotic community, in addition to what may be driving the unique dominance of a member of the family Rhodobacteraceae. Although metatranscriptome studies are needed to characterize the functional attributes of the SCB community, we have identified a specific and potentially beneficial symbiont that may support metabolic requirements and nutrient uptake vital to the reproduction of A. squamata.
format Text
author Tedford, Abbey Rose
author_facet Tedford, Abbey Rose
author_sort Tedford, Abbey Rose
title Isolation and identification of bacterial endosymbionts in the brooding brittle star Amphipholis squamata
title_short Isolation and identification of bacterial endosymbionts in the brooding brittle star Amphipholis squamata
title_full Isolation and identification of bacterial endosymbionts in the brooding brittle star Amphipholis squamata
title_fullStr Isolation and identification of bacterial endosymbionts in the brooding brittle star Amphipholis squamata
title_full_unstemmed Isolation and identification of bacterial endosymbionts in the brooding brittle star Amphipholis squamata
title_sort isolation and identification of bacterial endosymbionts in the brooding brittle star amphipholis squamata
publisher University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository
publishDate 2016
url https://scholars.unh.edu/honors/273
https://scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1275&context=honors
genre Northwest Atlantic
genre_facet Northwest Atlantic
op_source Honors Theses and Capstones
op_relation https://scholars.unh.edu/honors/273
https://scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1275&context=honors
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